The Food of Bolivia 139seems to have been inherited as a highland Bolivian custom
from British miners. The custom has spread to most other
regions of Bolivia, and prime time is between 4:30 pm and
5:30 pm. Coffee is also a choice but this is still the hour for
tea. Accompanying the tea or herbal brews are sweet breads,
regular bread or crusty marraqueta with rustic farm cheese,
butter and jam. More elaborate teatime includes pastries.
Several possible scenarios avail themselves for this period
of animated conversation. This could be the work break,
the home or an establishment (tea salon or club). Offi ce or
worksite tea hour offers a means for employees or labourers
to talk shop or socialise when the workday is winding down.
In cool highland areas, a hot brew satisfi es a biological need
as well, and the mixture of warmth and socialising does not
seem a coincidence.
Tea hours at home could involve different groupings.
Housewives from more affl uent sectors may take turns
offering their homes for tea and pastry, possibly accompanied
by a rummy game that may involve low-scale gambling. More
frequently, the tea hour is a way where extended families can
sustain their social ties, and this could mean three or even
Too bad that the most congenial bars, like this one in Sucre, don’t get going
until late evening, rarely serving as day-long neighbourhood hangouts.